Carry on working - till you're 70

MILLIONS could be forced to work until they are 70 under a controversial overhaul of employment laws. Ministers are preparing to bring to an end the retirement age of 65 to meet the demands of a European Union directive.

They want to replace it with a new age of 70 - or do away with a set retirement age altogether.

Critics warned the reforms will rob millions of people of their long-held dreams of retirement. They stressed that one in three men in Britain dies before the age of 70 and would never get the chance to enjoy their hard-earned leisure years.

And there is concern the plans are part of Labour's attempts to tackle the pensions crisis triggered by Gordon Brown's £5bn-a-year tax raid on pension funds.

The Tories claim ministers hope to ease the problem by persuading people to delay claiming their pensions and carry on working - and paying their taxes - instead.

The proposals have sparked divisions in the Government, according to a letter from Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt which was leaked to a Sunday newspaper.

She conceded there 'has not been consensus' about the best way forward and there were still 'different perspectives' within the Cabinet.

However, a decision will have to be taken soon to ensure new laws are in place by the EU deadline of October 2006.

Hewitt's letter reiterates the options she first unveiled last summer in her blueprint to tackle ageism in the workplace.

Under those proposals, the existing retirement age of 60 for women and 65 for men would be replaced by one of two options - a new cut-off point of 70 or no set age at all. Companies would also lose the right to set their own retirement ages, usually between 60 and 65.

But the reforms will not affect the age at which people can claim their State pension - 60 for women and 65 for men.

Ministers insist the new retirement age of 70 would simply be an upper limit and not stop people quitting earlier if they wanted. But critics fear employees could be forced to carry on working by bosses desperate to ease the crisis in company pension schemes.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber stressed that one in five Britons - and one in three men - die before the age of 70.

'We must not allow any changes to give companies an excuse to put pressure on workers to stay on longer than they want. People should be able to choose how long they keep working,' he said.

Work and Pensions secretary Andrew Smith confirmed the Government would unveil the final policy soon.

'The question is how you enable people to choose to continue working longer if they want to. We've had extensive consultation and the Government will be reaching a decision shortly,' he said.

The Conservatives said it was clear the Government's plans were being driven by the pensions crisis.

Shadow Work and Pensions secretary David Willetts said: 'If people wish to work longer, they should be free to do so - but nobody should be forced to work longer.

'The problem is that these proposals are not an enlightened attempt to help people. It's just a desperate bid to repair the damage Labour has done to our pensions.'

The plans have proved unpopular with business leaders too. They claim the changes will leave firms facing the threat of an employment tribunal simply for asking older workers to retire.

CBI director Susan Anderson said: 'It's critical to have a cut-off point to employment - neither employers nor employees want people to work for ever. Not having a cut-off point would embitter the retirement process and trigger many more tribunal cases.'

The Department for Trade and Industry said it did not comment on leaked documents.